(My apologies for posting this late. I was at Yankee Stadium without a computer when I learned about this around 6 p.m.)
You can never have enough good players in the Big East.
And you can never have enough guards, either.
That is the theory Rutgers coach Mike Rice is operating on as he builds his 2011 recruiting class.
“You need great players to win in the Big East,” Rice said, speaking generally because coaches are not permitted to comment until student-athletes sign.
And so even after landing a commitment from St. Anthony point guard Myles Mack Sept. 1, Rice convinced Jerome Seagers to join the party as well.
The 6-foot-1, 173-pound Seagears committed to Rutgers Tuesday and believes he and the 5-10 Mack can coexist and prosper.
“I think we will do well and succeed in every way,” Seagears said.
Seagears is the the No. 21 point guard in the Class of 2011 and Seagears is No. 23.
A DC Assault teammate of fellow Rutgers commit Malick Kone, Seagears averaged 18 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals last season at Red Springs (N.C.) Flora Macdonald Academy.
“He brings stability and leadership to the program,” Flora Macdonald coach Derrick Bond said. “He is a really good point guard who will instantly change the culture of the program. He is a winner and a game-changer.”
Seagears joins Mack, Kone and forwards Kadeem Jack and Derrick Randall of South Kent (Conn.) in Rice’s increasingly vaunted 2011 class.
He had also considered Cincinnati, Seton Hall, West Virginia and Arizona, but simply wanted Rutgers to convince him that he and Mack could coexist.
“Myles Mack isn’t really a point guard right now,” New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski said. “Because he’s 5-9, people will say he’s that. He can get inside defenses, but most of his creating he finishes himself. His penetration doesn’t lead to passes to other people as much as his own offense. And he can really get his shot. He can create his 3-point shot off the dribble.
“They’re going to try to make him a point guard, but right now he’s just a guard.”
Konchalski called Mack and Jack the “piano players” of the class, with Randall and Kone the “piano carriers.”
“Kadeem Jack, when he learns to play every possession is going to be a really fine player,” Konchalski said. “He has a really high ceiling. And Derrick Randall is rebounder. The one thing you can’t do too much is rebound. Kone is a terrific kid. He has a pretty good perimeter skill. He can be a piece of the puzzle.”
That puzzle now has filled in yet another piece with the addition of Seagears.
FREE THROWS
Tony Wroten says he will take an official to Louisville Friday after a “good” in-home visit Tuesday with head coach Rick Pitino…D’Angelo Harrison also said his in-home Tuesday with St. John’s coach Steve Lavin was “good.”…According to Tweets from Brewster (NH) Academy head coach Jason Smith, Kansas, N.C. State and Oklahoma were among the schools on campus Tuesday to visit with point guard Naadir Tharpe. Combo guard Eli Carter of Brewster will visit Charlotte this weekend and Cincinnati next. And Pitt commit Durand Johnson will take his official to Pitt this week.
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